


A Place in His Heart

by GrimHeaperr



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, I'm very emotional about season 7, M/M, PINING KEITH, Post Season 7, Post-Canon, SHEITH - Freeform, Shadam, keith loves shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:52:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimHeaperr/pseuds/GrimHeaperr
Summary: Keith finds Shiro in the Galaxy Garrison Memorial Hall.





	A Place in His Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very emotional about Keith, Shiro, and Adam.

It’s two days later when Keith finally wakes up. His head was muddy with incoherent thoughts. His consciousness would pull up memories from the fight: pains and voices, actions and a flow of quintessence in his bloodstream. Keith was conscious enough to feel someone squeeze his hand and feel a dip in his bed. A small hum warmed him before he opened his eyes. The morning sun was bright as it warmed the room in soft light. Kolivan and Krolia were to his left; his mother the first one to see his night-sky eyes. Keith gave her a smile, or what he thought was one, and watched her laugh softly.

“I’m so proud of you,” she tells him, voice sweet as honey. She leaned over and pushed his bangs out his face, careful to avoid the bandage on his head. He feels the warm hum again. His heart squeezes as he tries to say something but his voice doesn’t come out. Krolia helps him drink water, which makes him feel more awake. He tries to sit up, but Kolivan stops him.

“You still need rest,” he tells him, and Keith is too tired to argue. Sleep closes his eyes as he nods. A new familiar feeling blooms in his chest. He's happy that his mother is back. He's happy that Kolivan is here too.

 

* * *

 

“Keith,” he says, a little breathless, a little quieter than usual. He sounds relieved.

“Shiro,” He rasps, glad to see him again. He thought he was going to die up there, in the atmosphere along with the Robeast, but he's alive. He’s breathing, and that means the other Paladins are too.

Shiro puts his phone away. Keith notices that Shiro is in civilian clothes: an old black shirt and sweats. His new arm is at his side.

“How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Keith says honestly. His head is clear from the mud, and he feels more alert than he did that morning. He hears Shiro laugh. It’s a nice feeling.

Shiro catches him up on the last two days: about the speech, Hunk and his parents being reunited, and that Earth is different than before. They’re rebuilding, and there are street markets that bring life to the ruins. It's surreal being back home only for it to be a ghost of what was once a green planet. Keith imagined earth would have remained untouched; the Milky Way nestled far from where the Galra had reigned.

"You've grown so much as the Leader of Voltron," Shiro tells him, voice bright.

"It seems you have something that dwarfs him, though," Keith replies.

"The Atlas is amazing." Keith watches as Shiro loses himself in his thoughts. "It felt like I was piloting Black again. The Quintessence it holds shadows Voltron." Shiro gets up and sits on the sidebar. Keith moves to sit up, body a little sore. Shiro helps him with the shift; his new hand guiding Keith lightly by his shoulder. "Commander Holt's hard work paid off."

Keith hummed in agreement. Commander Holt was the one who vouched for Shiro to get him on the Kerberos mission, and he was also the only officer that regarded Keith with some form of soft respect.

"Your hard work paid off."

Keith feels Shiro look at him, expecting his normal retort that falls between the lines of "It was the team," and "We did it," but Shiro doesn't say that.

"Thank you, Keith."

 

* * *

  

When Keith is discharged the next morning, he dresses back into the Garrison uniform. His mom walks with him to the check-out desk. He finds Hunk and his family signing out, and Keith hangs back a bit. Shay is standing behind Hunk, the two of them chatting animatedly. Hunk's parents hover to the side, their faces worn but happy. Krolia places a warm hand on Keith's shoulder.

Keith tries to blend into the background of the busy hospital, but Hunk senses him anyway. Hunk rushes him, crushing him in another hug the lifts him off the ground. Keith doesn't resist and hugs back. They talk for a little while before they bid each other farewell. Keith checks out of the hospital.

When he's out, he searches for Shiro on the base. An officer guides him to the far side of the base, far from the hangers and the main area of the institution.

When he enters the hall, Keith wasn't expecting to see the memorial.

A long wall curves in the hall, faces and names filling it in somber rows and columns. Flowers and candles are placed on the floor.

Shiro stands on the end closest to the door. His arms are crossed and his face is contorted in a private pain. Keith approaches him quietly, but loud enough to make his presence known.

Keith eyes the wall and finds the name Shiro is looking at.

★★★  
ADAM W.

A distant memory reels its way forward. In the memory, Shiro tells him about his arm, the disease. About Adam. The anger and frustration the lined Shiro's voice the night before the Kerberos launch seems like eons ago. Keith had mirrored Shiro's emotions, but for a reason he refused to acknowledge until the Kerberos mission failure.

When he gets a closer look at the face, it's familiar.

_Don't expect me to be here when you come back._

Keith's heart squeezes.

"He died during the first attack," Shiro says, his voice thick with hurt. "They sent out the fliers to protect the Garrison when Sendak first attacked."

They didn't stand a chance.

"The last time we talked was an argument. He didn't want me to go on the mission, much like the higher-ups," Shiro tells him. Keith listens, even though he already knows this information. "He said he wouldn't be here when I came back. Something... something always held out hope that he didn't mean that. I thought I would get the chance to talk to him again," Shiro dug his fingers into his arms. He turns his gaze to the floor and Keith sees the first shimmer of gloss that coats those strong, grey onyx eyes. "I never got to say I'm sorry," Shiro's voice hitches, and Keith watches as he covers his mouth, his eyes shut tight.

Keith swallows his nerves as he places a hand on Shiro's shoulder. He doesn't stop Shiro from crying, much like he did back then. Back then, Keith was younger and didn't understand why Adam was against him going. It was Shiro's life to live, but if this war had taught him anything, it was that they never knew when their times were up. Shiro's number has been called by death several times over the last four years, and each time Keith had saved him.

Shiro had lived through his decision tenfold.

Keith had relished he was able to spend his time in space with Shiro, their bond strong in the face of adversity. Shiro had been at Keith's side, something that he selfishly enjoyed during the quiet moments of the night. His feelings for Shiro never faltered, and his actions had solidified that with each save. Keith had let himself love Shiro before the launch, a small flame that flickered on a dark windowsill. Now, years later, after Shiro had died, came back, and almost killed Keith, the flame burned brightly on the windowsill and illuminated the darkness that Keith had in his heart. It allowed him to open up and welcome his mother, allowed him to trust the Paladins -- his friends -- and lead with a strong, steady heart.

"I'm sure he knew," Keith offers, unsure of what to say. From what Keith remembered of Adam, he was always at Shiro's side to the point where Keith was a little jealous. He was a man who stood next to Shiro as an equal, and it was obvious that the man had loved Shiro much like he did. "He was like you. It was because of him that the Galaxy Garrison stood a chance against the Galra."

Shiro didn't say anything for a moment. The pregnant pause made Keith doubt what he said.

Shiro lets out a shaky breath. "We always thought I would be the first to go," Shiro lifts up his right hand, the new technology bulky and white, "The disease was getting worse before I left. He wanted to spend the last few years of my life with me, but I wanted to go into space."

"You wanted to live your dream."

Shiro pursed his lips and gave a slight nod. "I did."

The two were silent for a moment. Keith squeezed Shiro's shoulder before he retracted his hand. Shiro touched Adam's photo, his left hand gently dragged across the gloss.

"I think he would have been proud of you," Keith starts gently, "If the Galra hadn't interfered, I think you both would have been able to apologize. You both were always headstrong in your decisions."

"Much like you," Keith rolled his eyes as Shiro laughed. "Some days we argued more than we talked. He was smart and strong-willed."

Shiro continued to stare at the picture. "You know... I wanted to marry him before the launch. I had the ring, everything planned out," Keith didn't know. "I got authorization for the both of us to have dinner out in the city, the one Adam and I had our first date at as cadets, but," Shiro turns to Keith, and Keith's heart skips a beat. Shiro's smile didn't reach his eyes, and the sadness strummed through the air between them. Shiro doesn't finish, but Keith can fill in the gaps.

_He still loves him._

"I think some part of me still loves him," Shiro confirms Keith's thoughts a moment later. Keith feels his heart leap into his throat and ignores the pang of hurt that strikes his heart. He wanted to be as important as Adam was, to love Shiro openly. He knew it was a selfish thought. "Maybe that's something that I'm going to carry with me... this regret," Shiro takes his hand off of Adam's picture and returns it to his side.

Keith swallows his hurt and takes a deep breath before he asks his next question.

"Do you regret going on the Kerberos mission?"

He didn't mean to ask, but the question stubbles out of his lips before he can stop it. Keith felt his heart slam against his ribcage in anticipation for an answer that he wasn't going to like: That yes, he regretted going on the Kerberos mission, and in turn, the events that followed. Everything. Maybe he misinterpreted his place by Shiro's side, in his life.

Keith closed his eyes and drew in a slow, steady breath. He prepared himself for the worst.

"No," Shiro's honesty shoots through Keith's doubts, "I never regretted my choice. Not when the Galra took my arm, not when I was stuck in Black, and not now."

When Keith reopens his eyes, he immediately makes contact with the warmth in Shiro's.

"Not one bit."

The statement hangs between them, all of Keith's doubts crumble like the ruins of the outside world. Keith watches as Shiro filters through his thoughts. He watches the gears turn until they click into place. Keith sucks in a sharp breath.

"Keith," Shiro says seriously. Keith looks away as he feels his eyes burn with unshed tears. "Keith."

Suddenly, Shiro's arms were around him, strong and warm. Keith let himself be buried in it as his head buzzed with an accumulation of years of repressed emotions. Keith buried his finger's in Shiro's jacket. He lets out a shaky breath.

"Out of everything that has happened, Voltron was the best thing that ever happened to me," Shiro tells him. He feels Shiro thread his fingers into his hair to caress his head. "You helped me see that."

The two hold their positions for a long while, both letting themselves get lost in their thoughts and swelling emotions.

Maybe he does have a place in Shiro's heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Was this fake deep enough?


End file.
